Door operating apparatus



Dec. 22, 1964 L. STRAUSS DOOR OPERATING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 5, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 f 61 K L 66 p x Q J I INVENTOR LEOPOLD STRAUSS BY W ATTORNEY Dec. 22, 1964 Filed Sept. 5, 1961 L. STRAUSS DOOR OPERATING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent Leopold This invention relates to an apparatus for controlling the movement of a door type of closure. More specifically, it concerns an apparatus for holding a door in various positions between and including open and closed positions.

Conventional screen doors, storm doors and combinations thereof, and other auxiliary closures are mounted outside primary doors by means of hinges fixed to the closure and to the door jamb. Since it is most often desired that the auxiliary closure be returned to closed position after it has been opened, it is common practice to provide such closures with means urging them toward closed position. Such mews may comprise a door check such as a spring and dash pot, or simply a tension spring fixed at one end to the door and at its other end to the door jamb. While springs and door checks have proved convenient and economical, they do not function to maintain the auxiliary closure in any position except closed position, for they exert a continuous force tending to bring the closure back into closed position.

This function of a door check or spring can prove highly inconvenient when it is desired to open and close a door with one or both hands occupied in holding packages and the like. For example, one holding packages in both hands can exert body pressure against a closure from the inside thereof to cause the closure to pivot on its hinges and swing outward. Nonetheless, after the body force against the door has been spent in opposing the resistance of the spring, the spring will exert a relatively strong force to move the closure toward closed position. Although the return velocity of the closure to closed position is restricted when a dash pot is employed, the closure is nevertheless moved into closed position in a period of time insuiiicient to permit one attempting to pass therethrough to do so within being contacted by the closing door. Such contact is generally uncomfortable, and is disconcerting when both hands of the passer are occupied.

It is, therefore, a primary object of the present invention to provide an apparatus to maintain a door in any of a variety of open positions for a period of time sufiicient to permit a person to pass by the door. It is another object of this invention to provide an apparatus for maintaining a door in an open position and then releasing the door to closed position after a person has passed by the door. It is still another object of this in vention to provide such an apparatus which is simple in construction, economical to manufacture and easy to install on auxiliary doors of conventional construction.

According to the present invention, a ratchet or other pivot means is provided. The pivot means rotates as the door controlled by the present apparatus pivots on its hinges. In its rotation the pivot means generates a zone of rotation which extends outwardly from the circumference of the pivot means. Blocking means is mounted independently of the pivot means and can be held stationary while the pivot means rotates. The blocking means is urged against the pivot means to block movement of the pivot means in one direction of rotation thereof. Means operable from a location remote from the zone of rotation of the pivot means moves the blocking means out of that zone and thereby permits the pivot means to rotate in either of its directions of rotation.

According to one embodiment of the apparatus, means such as a spring is also provided for maintaining the See blocking means in the zone of rotation of the pivot means. It is against this spring that the means operable from a location remote from the zone, e.g., a cable attached to the pawl, operates.

A preferred structure is one in which the pivot means is a ratchet and the blocking means is a pawl. The mounting means for the pawl can include a bracket fixed to the door jamb. A clevis is joined to a pivot pin rotatably attached to the bracket, and a clevis pin engages the pawl between the arms of the clevis. The clevis pin extends through an aperture in the pawl, so that the pawl rotates in one plane between the arms of the clevis and in another plane when the pivot pin rotates on the bracket. Generally, the axes of the clevis pin and pivot pin are disposed perpendicular to each other; the planes of rotation of the pawl are, therefore, substantially perpendicular to each other. Spring means is provided to continuously urge the pawl about the clevis pin against the circumference of the ratchet. Other spring means continuously urges the pivot pin to rotate between the bracket arms until the pawl is in the zone of rotation of the ratchet. A cable or other means is operable to pull the pawl out of the zone of rotation of the ratchet by pulling downward on the pawl and causing the pivot pin and its attached clevis to rotate.

These and other objects, features and advantages of this invention will be better understood by reference to the illustration of a preferred embodiment of the invention in the annexed drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view, partly cut away, of the apparatus of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged top plan view along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view along line 3-3 of FIG. 2, and

FIG. 4 is a detailed perspective view of the pawl mounting mechanism of the apparatus.

Referring now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 and 2 thereof, a door 10 is mounted for pivotal movement on a door jamb 11. Door 10 is urged toward closed position by means of a closing spring 13 positioned concentric with a rod 14, which extends between and through the arms of a cylinder bracket 16. The cylinder bracket 16 is fixed to one end of a conventional dash pot 17, which is itself connected to the door 10 by means of a pin 18 rotatably held against the door It by means of a mounting bracket 19. Piston 20 of dash pot 17 is rotatably attached at its outer end to the pin 18.

As best seen in FIG. 3, rod 14 is held in substantially upright position by a block 21 supported on a jam-b bracket 23. One leg 22 of the jamb bracket 23 lies in a substantially horizontal plane while another leg 24 lies at right angles to the leg 22 and is immovably fixed to the door jamb 11. In upright position the rod 14 is held immobile by the block 21 fixed to leg 22, through which one end 25 of the rod 14 extends. The rod 14 also extends through aligned apertures 26 and 27 in opposed arms 28 and 29 of the U-shaped cylinder bracket 16..

Because vertical rod 14 is rigidly held in the block 21, cylinder bracket 16 rotates on the rod 14, proper lubrication being supplied to the apertures 26 and 2'7 and bearing surface 31 of the block 21. Vertical movement of cylinder bracket 16 during rotation on the rod 14 is arrested by means of the block 21, which prevents downward movement, and collar 32, which is fixed to rod 14 at the upper end 33 thereof and blocks upward movement of bracket 16.

Closing spring 13 serves as means continuously urging the door 10 toward closed position. Closing spring 13 is concentric with the rod 14 and is attached at one end to lower arm 29 of cylinder bracket 16 by means of a .5 groove 35 in which it is disposed. At its other end closing spring 13 is inserted in a slot 36 in the pawl bracket 37 (FIGS. 1, 2 and 3). Since closing spring 13 is a tension spring, and because pawl bracket 37 is fixed to door jamb 11, closing spring 13 exerts a continuous torque tending to move the cylinder bracket 16 in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 2.

The shape of lower leg 29 of cylinder bracket 16 is best illustrated in FIG. 2, where it will be seen that this leg is in the form of a ratchet with a plurality of teeth 38 spaced along its circumference. 'Ratchet teeth 38 are conventionally shaped, the forward surfaces 39 forming a ramp and the rearward surfaces 40 being radial. When pawl 41 is in the position illustrated in FIG. 2, the pawl prevents rotation of the ratchet 29 in a clockwise direction but does not prevent counterclockwise rotation.

The means by which pawl 41 is mounted for engage ment with ratchet teeth 38 is illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4. Pawl bracket 37, which holds one end of closing spring 13, has two legs 43 and 44, which are spaced from one another and have aligned apertures therethrough. Pawl bracket 37 is stationary, it being fixed to the door jamb 11 by means of a screw 45, which also extends through and holds jarnb bracket 23 to the jamb. A pivot pin 46 is journaled in the pawl bracket apertures and held therein by means of a retainer clip 47 at one end 48 of the pin (FIG. 2). At its other end 49 pivot pin 46 is attached to a clevis 50. The axis of pivot pin 46 is substantially horizontal, and pivot pin 46 is attached to the central portion of clevis 50 so that upper and lower clevis arms 51 and 52, respectively, likewise lie in horizontal planes. Aligned apertures in clevis arms 51 and 52 as well as the pawl 41 allow a clevis pin 53 to be passed through arm 51, pawl 41 and arm 52, in that order. Pawl 41 is thus provided with a fulcrum in the form of clevis pin 53, and compression spring 55 mounted between pawl 41 and clevis plate 56 urges the pawl 41 about clevis pin 53 and against the forward faces 39 of ratchet teeth 38. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, pawl 41 contacts the ratchet 29 when the pawl is in the zone of rotation of the ratchet. The pawl 41 is maintained in this zone by means of a lift spring 57 held at one end by a boss 54 on pawl bracket leg 44 and at its other end is connected to a link 58 (FIGS. 1 and 4) by means of link eye 59. Boss 54 and lift spring 57 have been omitted from FIG. 2 for clarity. Tension in lift spring 57 can be adjusted by moving the link 58 longitudinally of the pawl 41 in a slot 60 in the pawl.

The pawl 41 is disengaged from the ratchet 29 by moving the pawl out of the zone of rotation of the ratchet. This can be accomplished by a variety of means, a cable 61 being illustrated in the preferred embodiment of the drawings. As seen in FIG. 1, cable 61 is attached to the link 58 and to a foot treadle 62. Treadle 62 is mounted at one end 63 on a pivot 64; the other end 65 is free to move under the influence of cable 61 and lift spring 57, upward movement thereof being restricted by angle stop 66. Imparting a downward thrust to the cable 61 by means of the treadle 62 moves the pawl 41 to the position illustrated by broken lines 67 (FIG. 4) in which the pawl is out of engagement with the ratchet 29.

In operation, door is opened, carrying with it the mounting bracket 19 and mounting pin 18. This motion causes cylinder bracket 30 and its attached dash pot 17 to pivot on the rod 14 and block 21, thereby rotating the ratchet 29, which is the lower leg of cylinder bracket 16. As ratchet 29 rotates, pawl 41 is periodically forced away from the ratchet against the urging of compression spring 55, which forces pawl 41 into locking engagement with teeth 38 of ratchet 29 when the opening force on the door 10 has been released. During this time lift spring 57 has maintained pawl 41 in the zone of rotation of the ratchet 29. When it is desired to close the door 10, treadle 62 is depressed, pulling cable 61 with it and causing pawl 41 to pivot on pivot pin 46 out of the zone of rotation of the ratchet 29. With ratchet 29 unobstructed by pawl 41, the door 10 closes under the regulation of dash pot 17. The pressure on treadle 62 is then released, and lift spring 57 returns pawl 41 to the zone of rotation of ratchet 29 ready to begin another cycle of operation.

It will be apparent that alternations and modifications of the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings and described in this specification may be made by those skilled in this art without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, in lieu of a footoperated treadle, an electromechanical device may be utilized to withdraw the pawl from the zone of rotation of the ratchet. Instead of a ratchet and pawl arrangement, a unidirectional clutch or similar device could be substituted. It is desired that all such obvious altertions and modifications be included within the purview of the invention, which is to be limited only by the scope of the following appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an apparatus for operating a door mounted for pivotal movement between open and closed positions,

pivoted means with abutment shoulders thereon which rotates in either of opposite directions in a plane of rotation as said door moves between said positions, blockmg means mounted independently of said pivoted means, saidblocking means in at least one position thereof being stationary independent of the rotation of said pivoted means, means urging said blocking means against said abutment shoulders of said pivoted means in said plane of rotation so that said blocking means permits rotation of said pivoted means in one direction of rotation and blocks rotation thereof in the opposite direction, means separate from said urging means for retaining said blocking means at said plane of rotation, and means operable from alocation remote from said blocking means to move said blocking means against the force of said retaining means out of abutment with said shoulders and out of 7 said plane to permit rotation of said pivoted means.

2. In an apparatus for operating a door mounted for pivotal movement between open and closed positions, a ratchet which rotates as said door moves between said positions, said ratchet by its rotation generating a zone of rotation extending from the circumference of said ratchet, apawl mounted independently of said ratchet for pivotal motion in two planes, said pawl in at least one position thereof being stationary independent of the rotation of said ratchet, means urging said pawl about one pivot line into a position against the circumference of said ratchet, means urging said pawl about a second pivot line into said zone of rotation of said ratchet, said pawl as urged by both said means permitting rotation of said ratchet in one direction of rotation and blocking rotation thereof in the opposite direction, and means operable from a location remote from said zone for moving said pawl out of said zone to permit rotation of said ratchet in either of said directions.

3. In an apparatus for operating a door mounted for pivotal movement between open and closed positions, a ratchet which rotates as said door moves between said positions, said ratchet by its rotation generating a zone of rotation extending perpendicularly outwardly from the circumference of said ratchet, a pawl mounted independently of said ratchet for pivotal motion in two planes, said pawl in a position common to said two planes blocking rotation of said ratchet, the mounting means for said pawl including a bracket fixed to a stationary object, a pivot pin mounted on said bracket, a clevis joined to one end of said pivot pin for movement therewith, and a clevis pin engaging said clevis for pivotal movement along an axis substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation of said pivot pin, said clevis pin extending through said pawl, and means operable from a location remote from said zone for rotating said pivot pin to move said pawl along the circumference of a circle which has as its center S the axis of said pivot pin and out of said blocking posi tion.

4. In an apparatus for operating a door mounted for pivotal movement between open and closed positions, a ratchet which rotates as said door moves between said positions, said ratchet by its rotation generating a zone of rotation extending perpendicularly outwardly from the circumference of said ratchet, a pawl mounted independently of said ratchet for pivotal motion in two planes, the mounting means for said pawl including a bracket fixed to a stationary object, a pivot pin mounted on said bracket, a clevis joined to one end of said pivot pin for movement therewith, a clevis pin engaging said clevis for pivotal movement along an axis substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation of said pivot pin, said clevis pin extending through said pawl, means urging said pawl about said clevis pin and into engagement with the circumference of said ratchet, means urging said pawl into said zone of rotation of said ratchet, said pawl as urged by both said means permitting rotation of said ratchet in one direction of rotation while blocking rotation thereof in the opposite direction, and means operable from a location remote from said zone for moving said pawl about said pivot pin and out of said zone to permit rotation of said ratchet in either of said directions.

References Qited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 359,223 Merredith Mar. 8, 1887 1,291,605 Neidl Jan, 14, 1919 1,508,466 Nemec Sept. 16, 1924 1,662,395 Norton Mar. 13, 1928 

1. IN AN APPARATUS FOR OPERATING A DOOR MOUNTED FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENT BETWEEN OPEN AND CLOSED POSITIONS, PIVOTED MEANS WITH ABUTMENT SHOULDERS THEREON WHICH ROTATES IN EITHER OF OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS IN A PLANE OF ROTATION AS SAID DOOR MOVES BETWEEN SAID POSITIONS, BLOCKING MEANS MOUNTED INDEPENDENTLY OF SAID PIVOTED MEANS, SAID BLOCKING MEANS IN AT LEAST ONE POSITION THEREOF BEING STATIONARY INDEPENDENT OF THE ROTATION OF SAID PIVOTED MEANS, MEANS URGING SAID BLOCKING MEANS AGAINST SAID ABUTMENT SHOULDERS OF SAID PIVOTED MEANS IN SAID PLANE OF ROTATION SO THAT SAID BLOCKING MEANS PERMITS ROTATION OF SAID PIVOTED MEANS IN ONE DIRECTION OF ROTATION AND BLOCKS ROTATION THEREOF IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION, MEANS SEPARATE FROM SAID URGING MEANS FOR RETAINING SAID BLOCKING MEANS AT SAID PLANE OF ROTATION, AND MEANS OPERABLE FROM A LOCATION REMOTE FROM SAID BLOCKING MEANS TO MOVE SAID BLOCKING MEANS AGAINST THE FORCE OF SAID RETAINING MEANS OUT OF ABUTMENT WITH SAID SHOULDERS AND OUT OF SAID PLANE TO PERMIT ROTATION OF SAID PIVOTED MEANS. 